Loving people more than the message of the gospel

I read a bit of Darrin Hufford's book "The Misunderstood God", and I like what he shared about himself coming to realise that "something changed in me after I fell in love with these people" because he used to love the message of the gospel even more than he loved people. I agree with his observation that in the evangelical christian world, too many preachers have put the message before the people, which "had mutated into something... that it actually hurt people rather than helped them".

I have come to see that almost every gospel message or sermon, no matter how well-intentioned it is, has some form of legalism. Perhaps the only way to love people unconditionally is to simply be with them and accept them the way they are, without trying to preach to them or fix them. I think in this respect, Darin Hufford has indeed shown unconditional love and acceptance to many people, especially through Free Believers' Network. David Hayward's forum came to mind too, as it seeks to foster an atmosphere of unconditional love and acceptance among the people.

Why we fall prey to dogma

 

"We fall prey to dogma because we are living in fear and seeking security, seeking to be "right" and "correct"; but the most we accomplish with dogma is to keep our minds buzzing with ideas and confirmations, constantly guarding what we've learned, constantly defending positions, fearful of what we hear, of what we see. Thus, dogma is simply a religious path formed of ego, it's footing established through fear of eternal punishment and desire for eternal security."
~ Bobby Hinkle (from Free Believers Network)